(Portions of this story were taken from the DePauw
website)
GREENCASTLE, Ind. - Senior wideout Alex Koors caught eight
passes for 96 yards and in the process became the SCAC's all-time
leading receiver as DePauw held on for a 23-19 victory over Adrian
Saturday afternoon at Blackstock Stadium. BOX SCORE | PHOTO GALLERY
The former career receiving mark of 3,202 was held by Jason Hunt of
Trinity University (1999-2002). With his 96 yards receiving yards,
Koors has 3,216 for his career.
DePauw's defense stopped Adrian twice from the 1-yard line in the
game's final minute and the Tigers remained undefeated at 6-0 with
the win over the visiting Bulldogs. The Tigers' start is their best
since 1951, while Adrian dropped to 2-4.
DePauw took a 23-10 lead early in the fourth on Michael Engle's 2-yard scoring pass to Alex Koors with 14:15 left, but the point-after was blocked. The Bulldogs drove to the DePauw 29 before the Tigers stopped them on downs.
The Tigers, however, were forced to punt on their next possession and Adrian needed just three plays to score as Mike McGee completed a 43-yard scoring pass to Jared Edwards which closed the gap to 23-17 with 9:07 left. DePauw then drove to the Adrian 13, but Eric Malm's 31-yard field goal try hit the left upright giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Adrian 20.
McGee drove Adrian to the DePauw 17, but a first down pass from McGee to Justin Hemm ended in a fumble which the Tigers' Ryan Huffman recovered with just 2:59 left.
DePauw was unable to pick up a first down on its next series and punter Adam Hill ran out of the end zone as the Tigers took a safety making it 23-19. Adrian returned the free kick to its own 47 and drove to the Tigers' 9. Jared Edwards picked up five yards on first down and Jeremy Southworth gained three on the next play.
Following an Adrian timeout with 37 seconds left, Southworth got the call two more times but was stopped short of paydirt each time and DePauw took over on downs.
The Tigers took an early 3-0 lead in the game on Malm's 30-yard field goal just four minutes into the contest and Adrian gained a 7-3 advantage on D'ante Thompson's 4-yard pass from McGee with just 51 seconds left in the first.
Logan Mitseff's 45-yard field goal early in the second pushed Adrian to a 10-3 lead, but Taylor Wagner's 77-yard punt return for a score midway through the quarter knotted the contest at 10-10. Koors gave the Tigers a 17-10 lead late in the third on a 7-yard scoring pass from Engle and expanded it in the fourth with his second score of the game.
Adrian outgained the Tigers, 360-321, and held a 23-18 edge in first downs. Engle completed 28 of 39 passses for 260 yards and two scores with eight passes going to Koors for 96 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Koors topped the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference career receiving yards record held by Trinity's Jason Hunt. He also extended his streak with at least one catch to 35 straight games. Koors also moved his career receptions total to 216 which is just one shy of tying the DePauw and SCAC record.
Derrick Karazsia caught seven for 52 yards and rushed for 53 yards on 15 carries.
McGee completed 22 of 38 passes for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with eight going to Hemm for 93 yards and five to Thompson for 34 yards.
Defensively, Ryan Preuss paced the Tigers with 14 total tackles, while Matt Johnson added 12 and Jonathan Lambert 11. Danny Taylor paced the Bulldogs with 12 tackles and Chris Cook added 11.
DePauw can clinch a share of the SCAC title next Saturday and the conference's automatic qualification into the NCAA Championship with a win at Trinity. Adrian hosts Kalamazoo next Saturday.
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